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Members of the panel persisted with their demand that
low-alcohol drinks like wine and beer be introduced on domestic flights.
'Congress MP Rajiv Shukla has raised this issue in the
last meeting. We would like to know what happened to the demand?' one
MP is said to have asked.
The minister responded by saying the matter was under
serious consideration.
Alcohol is served on Air India's international flights
and other domestic carriers flying out of India. It used to be served
for a while in the domestic carriers where it used to create many awkward
moments including even the ministers and other politicians. Private airlines
like Kingfisher have recently been lobbying for permission to serve liquor
on domestic flights. The UB group, which owns Kingfisher Airlines, is
also the world's third largest producer of spirits.
The majority owner of UB, Mr. Vijay Mallya is also a
close friend of the Aviation Minister and it is anybody's guess if the
current lobby which will have its say sooner than later has any backing
or push from him. It will also be interesting to see if the legislators
will plug only for Indian wines or leave the choice to the passengers
and airlines.
It is interesting to note that UB is also importing wines
from its own stable, Bouvet Ladubay from France apart from other expected
labels from Italy, South Africa and Australia.
There has been generally a strong opposition for the
air staff to allow serving drinks as people at various levels gulping
fast started misbehaving with one drink two many, during the flights that
usually last under a couple of hours. However, producers lament that they
are missing out on a decent slice of the market by not being able to catch
the captive customer in the sky.
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